Liquid-dispensing apparatus



Dec. 16, 1930. L. D. THOMPSON 1,734,852

LIQUID DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 1, 1922 j7 ZZ967ZZ07 lore 2150 Thom 060w,

' ably constructed of sheet Patented Dec. 16, 1930 STATES LORENZG D. THOMPSON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE F-N COMPANY, OF

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION 01* ILLINOIS LIQUID-DISPENSING APFARATUS Application filed December 1, 1922. Serial No. 604,184.

This invention relates to improvements in liquid dispensing apparatus.

Briefly and more particularly stated, the invention contemplates the provision of coin controlled apparatus of the class named whereby measured quantities of ink may be dispensed into a receiving well for use in filling fountain pens and the like, and one object of the invention is to provide a novel form of apparatus for accomplishing this result, which apparatus shall be simple both in construction and operation, and economical to manufacture.

Another object of the invention is to provide means in apparatus of the class described, whereby upon insertion of a coin of the proper denomination a measured quantity of ink may be transferred from an interior reservoir of the machine into a well accessible from the exterior of the machine.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent to those skilled in the art from a reading of the following specification taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein one form of the invention is illustrated.

In the drawings- Figure 1 is a front elevation of a machine constructed in accordance with the present invention;

F1g. 2 1s a sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; a

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4: is a top plan View of the ink reservoir and associated parts.

Referring more in detail to the drawings, 9 designates generally the cabinet of the apparatus which completely houses all of the various parts thereof, said cabinet being provided with a forwardly projecting extension 10, provided in its upper surface adjacent the forward end thereof with a plurality of openings 11 and 12. The cabinet is prefermetal and surrounding the openings 11 and 12 the metal is pressed inwardly so as to provide inwardly directed funnel-shaped aprons, as shown in the drawings. The rear wall 13 of the cabinet is hinged along its lower edge as at 14 and adjacent its upper edge is provided with a staple 15 designated to engage through the slot of the hinged hasp 16 and to accommodate a padlock, or the like, 17, so that only authorized persons may have access to the interior of the cabinet.

Mounted in the bottom of the cabinet and within the latter, is a narrow elongated reservoir 18, which, when in position, preferably extends from the rear wall 13 of the cabinet to a point slightly in advance of the opening 11 formed in the top surface of the forward projection 10 of the cabinet. This reservoir at its forward end carries a vertically disposed Well 19, which, when the reservoir is in proper position, is directly beneath the opening 11 and accessible through the latter, as shown more'clearly in'Fig. 2 of the drawings. The well is provided with an'inlet opening 21 in its side wall and is also provided with an overflow opening 22, the latter being also in the side Wall of the well and immediately beneath the inlet opening. The reservoir is provided with a cover plate 23 which is provided adjacent the rear end of the reservoir with an opening 24 surrounding which is an upstanding, outwardly flared, funneLshaped bottle receiving and supporting member 25. 26 represents an ordinary ink bottle shown inverted with its outlet or neck projecting downwardly through the opening 24 and part way into the reservoir 18, it being contemplated to so shape or form the upstanding receiving funnel 25 that it willsnugly fit the tapered neck of the bottle in such manner that the latter will be firmly held in its inverted position without danger of displacement. As will be appreciated, ink or other liquid from the container 26 will flow into the reservoir 18 upon positioning said container, as shown, such flow continuing untilthe level of the liquid in the reservoir 18 rises suiiiciently to seal the mouth of the container. In practice, the bottle support, depth of reservoir and other controlling factors may preferably be so arranged that the level within the reservoir will remain in a plane slightly below the overflow opening 22 of the well 19.

Intermediate the bottle receiving opening 2 1 in the top wall of the reservoir and the 2 unease suitable pin 80 which is mounted in upstanding cars 31, disposed on opposite" edges ofthe side walls of the reservoir. Suitable spacing sleeves 32 are provided in order to maintain the spout properly centered, both. with relation to the reservoir and to the inlet opening 21 of the well with which the outlet opening of said spout cooperates in the manner hereinafter described. The pivot pin of the conveyor spout 27 is in rather close proximity tothe outlet end thereof by reason of which the said spout will normally occupy the position shown in full lines in Fig. 2 with its inner or intake end dipping intothe liquid in the res ervor 18-, and with its outer or' outlet end projecting out of the reservoir in the vicinity of the inlet opening 21. this position it will be observed that liquid from the reservoir will flow into the intake opening 28 of the spout filling the lower end thereof to apoint coincident with the liquid level in the reservoir.

At 33 there is shown a coin controlled lock, this showing being more or less diagrammatic by reason of the fact that the lock per seforms no part of the present invention and may be of any of the present well known types. The lock spindle 34 projects through the front plate of the cabinet and is provided with an operating knob 35. in the front wall of the cabinet adjacent the operating spindle there is provided a suitable coin receiving opening 36. The element of the lock on the interior of the cabinet which is rotatable by the knob 35, carries a radial arm 37, the lock shown being of the type wherein rotative movement of said arm is limited to an arc of 90 degrees. At the end of the arm-37 a wire 38 or the like, is attached and at its other end said wire is provided with a hook 39 which detachably engages a screw-eye 40 carried by the inner end of the spout 27, so that upon insertion of the proper coin in the opening 26 and subsequent turning of the knob 35, the arm 37 may be raised as shown in dotted lines on Fig. 1, thereby lifting the inner end of the spout 27 to substantially the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, whereupon the entrapped liquid within said spout will flow outwardly through the outlet 29 thereof and into the well 19 through its inlet opening 2-1. Any excess liquid flowing into the well 19 will overflow through the opening 22 back into the reservoir. Projecting laterally from the inlet opening 21 is an apron 41 which acts. as a guide for the liquid entering the well and which may also serve as a stop and centering device for the spout 27 when the latter is inv its raised position. The cover plate 23 of the reservoir is provided with a centrally disposed longitudinal slot 12 to permit of the pivotal movements of the spout 27.

As will be observed from the foregoing description, the reservoir 18, together with the. well 19 and the spout 27 may be removed bodily as a unit from the cabinet upon lowering the rear hinged wall 13 thereof. This renders the reservoir and associated parts readily and. quickly accessible for purposes of either cleaning or repairing. It is contemplated when placing a fresh bottle of ink in the cabinet to first substitute for the ordinary stopper therein a stopper such as shown at 48, the same provided with an opening ll and cooperating valve 15, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings. The: valve head of the member 15 is shown at 46 and may cooperate with a suitable valve seat 47 provided in the inner endof the stopper 43, surrounding the opening 4 1 therein. The outer end of the member 45 is provided with an enlarged head 48 between which and the adjacent face of the stopper 13 is con fined a coiled spring 49, normally tending to seat the valve head 46. These parts are so arranged with respect to the depth of the reservoir 18 that in placing a bottle in inverted position as shown in- Fig. 1, the enlarged head 48 will engage the bottom wall of the reservoir 18 prior tothe bottle reaching its final position, so that further downward movement thereof causes the valve head 16 to be unseated thereby permitting the liquid contents of the bottle to flow out into the reservoir until the mouth of the bottle is sealed. This is preferred for the reason that it may become desirable, often times to clean the reservoir or other parts of the apparatus before the contents of a bottle have been entirely usechin which event it would be necessary to remove the bottle in order to have proper access to the parts requiring attention. The valve member just described permits of the easy removal of the bottle even though it is partly or entirely full Without danger of slopping or spilling the contents thereof. Under. the opening 12 in the top plate of the forward extension 10 of the cabinet, a small jar 50 isplaced, which may be used as a waste jar, or, if desired, thisv jar may be partially filled with water to be used in cleaning a pen be fore filling the same. This jar may be moved into and out of position from the e rear of the cabinet in. the same manner as described in connection with the reservoir and other parts.

It is thought that the present invention will be found very useful in schools, colleges, libraries and many public places where fountain pens are widely used, it being contemplated to so construct the machines that upon insertion of a one cent piece and actuation of the knob 35, substantially just enough ink will be delivered into the ink well 19 to fill a fountain pen of the average size. Of course, in some places it may be desirable to provide machines which shall be devoid of the coin control feature. In such event the bottom of the well 19 might be left open so that the liquid would always stand at the same level therein, as in the reservoir 18, the inlet and overflow openings and the conveyor spout and related mechanism being dispensed with in such modification. It will also be obvious that the special stopper a3 and related vah'e member l5 may be dispensed with, if desired, and further that the invention is not limited to the particular use herein described but on the other hand, is either in the form herein described or with slight modification, readily adaptable to a variety of other uses.

Many changes and modifications in the present improvements, other than those specifically mentioned, will also suggest themselves to those skilled in the art and it is not therefore desired to limit or restrict the invention to the particular forms herein illustrated and described, except where limitations appear in the appended claims.

lVhat I claim is- 1. An apparatus for use in filling fountain pens comprising a cabinet, a well associated with the cabinet, said well being of a shape and size to receive and fit the pen end of a fountain pen whereby to cause the fountain pen to withdraw substantially all of the ink from the well when filled from the well, a reservoir within the cabinet and means for transferring a measured quantity of ink from said reservoir to said well.

2. In an ink dispensing apparatus, a cabinet provided with an opening therein, a stationary well disposed within the cabinet adjacent said opening and accessible through the latter, a reservoir within said cabinet, means operating within the cabinet and entirely enclosed thereby for transferring a measured quantity of ink from the reservoir to said well, and a manually operable device located e-Xteriorly of the cabinet and connected to said means for actuating the same.

3. In apparatus of the class described, a cabinet provided with an opening therein, a well adjacent said opening and accessible through the latter, a reservoir within said cabinet, means for transferring liquid from said reservoir to said well, and means for supporting a container within said cabinet with its outlet end extending into said reservoir.

4. In apparatus of the class described, a cabinet provided with an opening therein, a well adjacent said opening and accessible through the latter, a reservoir Within said cabinet, and means associated with said reservoir for transferring liquid from the latter to said Well, said well being attached to said reservoir in fixed relation to said transfer means, and said reservoir, well, and transfer means being bodily removable as a unit from said cabinet.

5. In apparatus of the class described, a cabinet having a forward projection provided with an opening therein, an elongated reservoir mounted in said cabinet and underlying said opening at its forward end, a Well carried by said reservoir and accessible through said opening, said well being provided with a laterally disposed inlet, a conveyor spout having intake and outlet openings pivoted to said reservoir in such wise that the intake end thereof normally dips into the liquid in said reservoir, wl lo the outlet projects from said reservoir in the vicinity of said inlet, and means for lifting the intake end of said spout above the pivotal point of the latter so that the liquid entrapped therein may flow into said well through said inlet.

(3. In apparatus of the class described, a cabinet having a forward projection pro vided with an opening therein, an elongated.

reservoir mounted in said cabinet and underlying said opening at its forward end, a well carried by said reservoir and accessible through said opening, said well being provided with. a laterally disposed inlet, a con veyor spout having intake and outlet openings pivoted to said reservoir in such wise that the intake end thereof normally dips into the liquid in said reservoir, while the outlet projects from said reservoir in the vicinity of said inlet, means for lifting the intake end of said spout above the pivotal point of the latter so that the liquid entrapped therein may flow into said well through said inlet, and an apron associated with said inlet which serves as a stop and centering device for said spout when the same is raised and also as a means for conveying the ink into the well.

7. In apparatus of the class described, a cabinet provided with an opening therein, a well within the cabinet adjacent said opening and accessible through the latter, a reservoir within said cabinet, a conveyor spout pivoted to said reservoir and operating entirely within the cabinet for transferring measured quantities of liquid from the latter to said well and means operable from the exterior of the cabinet and positively connected to the spout for positively operating the same 8. In apparatus of the class described, a cabinet having a forward projection provided with an opening therein, an elongated reservoir mounted in said cabinet and provided at its forward end with a well underlying and accessible through said opening, a conveyor spout pivoted to said reservoir in such wise that one end thereof normally dips into the liquid in said reservoir, while the other end thereof projects from said reservoir adjacent said well, and means for lifting the first-named end of said spout above the pivotal mounting of the latter so that the liquid entrapped therein may flow into said well.

' 9. An apparatus for use 1n filling fountain pens and comprising acabinet, a well within the cabinet, said cabinet having an opening through which the well is accessible, said well being of relatively great depth with respect to its cross sectional area and having its walls formed with downwardly converging portions and terminating in a lower end of reduced cross sectional area adapted to receive only the outer end portion of the pen point of the fountain pen, said well being otherwise of such shape and size as to receive and fit snugly the pen end of the fountain pen, whereby to cause the fountain pen to withdraw substantially all of the ink from the well when filled from the well, and means within the cabinet and acting when operated to supply the well with a measured quantity of ink sufficient to fill the fountain pen.

10. In an apparatus of the character describes, a cabinet provided with an opening, a reservoir within the cabinet, a stationary well carried by the reservoir and alined with the opening of the cabinet in the assembly whereby the well is accessible through the cabinet opening and means for transferring a measured quantity of liquid from said 16S61Y0l1 to said well.

In testimony whereof, I have subscribed my name.

LORENZO THOli JEPSON.

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